In the intensive care units of hospitals (ICU), the patients often have thin water-like stools, which may be very aggressive to the perianal skin. By perianal is meant the area surrounding the anus opening. For management of stools, diapers, faecal collecting bags or anal invasive products are used. The diapers often result in damaged skin and require frequent change and the invasive products are expensive. Collecting bags attached to the perianal skin are an attractive solution, but the devices on the market today have problems with a high degree of leakage.
Present adhesives for faecal management by means of a collecting bag have poor wear time, leading to possible exposure of faecal output on the perianel skin and to more nursing time. Furthermore, the prior art are mainly describing devices intended for bedridden users and not for mobile or semi-mobile users.
When wearing an adhesive wafer in the perianal area the wafer should be flexible enough in order also to absorb the stress that comes due to body movements.
Hence, it is critical that the faecal management devices are designed so that they are securely attached to the skin of the wearer and do not unintentionally become unattached during any circumstance of use.
WO 00/00122 is describing a faecal management device for babies, children or adults to be attached to the perianal area of the wearer. The device comprises a bag, said bag having an aperture and a skin attachment means surrounding said aperture wherein said skin attachment means meets certain flexibility criteria so as to ensure maintenance of the device in the desired position for the entire period of wear.
The faecal management device may be difficult to apply correctly just as stress may built up in the faecal management device while the user moves and thus cause discomfort and/or leakage.
Thus there is still a need for a faecal management device being easy to apply, comfortable and with good adhesiveness and safety when moving around. The faecal management device of the present invention fulfils these and other objects.